penandpatience

WRITERS WORDS: “I would advise anyone who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick hide.” – Harper Lee

FEBRUARY 2020 MONTHLY MUSING

WRITERS’ WOES

            Write in haste, cut and paste, what a waste! (A Musing that fell from my lips to paper)  Perhaps, it’s just one of “those” writing days….

Ah, yes, have you ever had a writing day when the right words failed to travel from pen to paper?  However, you blathered on with dialogue and prose filling the prerequisite word flow planned for the day.  I believe, and correct me if I’m wrong, most writers, even great writers have good, great and just plain terrible writing days. Whether you’re a professional writer wrestling with deadlines and publisher expectations or any writer who takes writing as a serious endeavor– rejection, stress, procrastination, time constraints, family commitments and writer fatigue play no favorites.

I muse, individual writers have personal writing methods, habits, preferences and are unique in their project creations completing them in specific time frames. Many writers are up writing before the rooster crows spending limited writing time before heading out to the day jobs, the ones that pays the families’ bills😊 (Note: John Grisham, James Patterson, Stephen King do not have this particular dilemma…)  However, most writers have specific writer woes…

This writer procrastinates when a short story project is not going well.  Reasons are:  everyday chores need to be done, need to catch up with friends and no-excuse avoidance. I stay away from the downstairs office because pen, paper and computer lurk there awaiting pickup or pushing the on button. The not so well written pages are purposely placed on the kitchen table waiting for attention. Yes, one of my “hang-ups:” I must reread the previous days writing and edit out or replace words, check grammar and punctuation, with rewrites scribbled in page margins. Changes are retyped before continuing with the story or if the writing is really horrible, pitched in the shredder. Then I move on hoping improved writing sessions blossom.

What does work for me? It’s when I know how I want the story to end. I’m rejuvenated and energized once I have the ending inside my head. Characters develop distinct personalities and quirks while I’m in the shower or out for my daily walk. They hang around my neck night and day giving me no peace until I’ve written, “The End.”  BUT there are other “woes” after a project is completed. The end of the story doesn’t mean it’s over. It’s just the beginning. The story has to rest, additional rereads, edits, rechecks on research accuracy, writer group and trusted beta reader critiques need to be accomplished. Yes, “haste makes waste.” and this is a lesson I and many writers learned over time with that awful word, rejection, to prove it.

So–how do writers get rid of the “Woes?”  Realistically, we don’t. Good and mediocre writing days will continue to occur, but we beat the “woes” by utilizing a plethora of writer tools and assistance available for all writer levels. Dig out and reread purchased self-help books and devour writer magazines (i.e. Writer’s Digest, Poets & Writers, The Writer), sign up for another creative writing course regardless of genre, participate in writer critique groups, attend writer workshops in your state or community and READ favorite authors and other successful authors to learn authors’ differing writing styles.

AND…. C’est La Vie!  (That’s life!) The writing craft never promised a rose garden. Occasionally we’ll prick a finger on a thorn —-Ouch!  That hurt!

Dear Readers & Writers:

Happy Reading. Happy Writing!    Happy Valentine’s Day!